Course Objective:
To gain a basic understanding of the structural organization
(anatomy), function (physiology), and neural control of the human
vocal tract during speech production (speech motor control). The
effectors or subsystems of the human vocal tract pro duce forces,
movements, sound pressure, air flows and air pressure during speech.
These subsystems include the chest wall, larynx, velopharynx,
and orofacial [lip, tongue, and jaw]. The selection, sequencing and
timing of these articulatory subsystems to produce intelligible
speech is orchestrated by the nervous system. The speech motor
control system also benefits from several types of sensory signals,
including auditory, visual, deep muscle afferents, and cutaneous
inputs. The multimodal nature of senso ry processing is vital to the
infant learning to speak, and assists the mature speaker in
maintaining speech intelligibility. Pathophysiology of vocal tract
subsystems due to musculoskeletal abnormalities, brain injury, and
progressive disease will be presented during the course of the
semester.